1/30/12

Well, my Hawaiian vacation is sadly over and its back to the grind for me! The ONLY good thing that I really can see right now from this is that I get to re-open my Etsy Vintage Shop! I am so excited for warm weather and bright colors, and I think my shop pretty much reflects that. That said, I still have a ton of awesome cool weather vintage goodies to list though, so I don't want to get too ahead of myself! I will try and do a little preview this week of all the great upcoming listings!

{click photo to be taken directly to listing}

I also have a few more outfit, adventure, and photography posts from Hawaii I would like to share with you over the next few weeks. Then I can maybe relive some of the memories as well! Hope everyone is having a terrific Monday. If you have any pretty posts or things you would like to share, leave a comment below! I need to shake these post-vacation blues!

1/27/12

What a week it has been! I have been traveling with my boyfriend and family all over the big island of Hawaii and have not had phone or internet for most of it. It was nice to take a little break from all of the usual technology that fills my every day life. I will be sharing some pictures of my adventures here in the following week. We leave tomorrow, and I am completely dreading it. Not even a small part of me is excited to return to Colorado in the middle of winter!

These pictures were taken right outside of our apartment in Kailua-Kona. I am in love with all of the Bougainvillea (umm, hardest word to spell EVER) bushes with brightly colored flowers in bloom all over which inspired this outfit. To get the hairstyle, I put my hair in a high pony tail, then braided it and wrapped it around, pinning it in place with bobby pins. Super easy but keeps the hair off my neck in this hot weather. As for the bow tie, it is a vintage scarf I folded over and tied in a bow under the collar of my blouse. Yes, I understand that I resemble a clown with my bright colors, polka dots, and bow tie, but who cares! I am on vacation.

Outfit Details:

Shoes: thrifted

Blouse: vintage/ thrifted

Shorts: Sears

Pin: vintage/ gift

Scarf (tied in bow tie): vintage/ thrifted

I am off to make the most of my last full day here! Anyone know of any environmental jobs in Hawai'i where I could start tomorrow? I may even be willing to sling burgers for the rest of my life if it meant staying in paradise, and thats coming from a vegetarian!

1/22/12

Sorry I have been MIA for a few days, we left friday morning and didn't get back until last night. We spent the day exploring the northern part of the island and then heading to Hapuna Beach to stay overnight at a hotel there. Hapuna beach is absolutely gorgeous, I highly recommend it if you are ever on the big island of Hawai'i!

These pictures were taken on the day my mom and I went on a mini thrift store adventure. One of the thrift stores was part of a cool little botanical garden that we had all to ourselves. I am really loving a really light turquoise or mint with red right now, and some of the palms and greens ands reds too! It was super hot this day and I think the heat was making me slightly delirious, hence the third picture down. Classy, as usual!

Outfit Details:

Skirt: thrifted

Hat: target

Top: target (I think!)

Shoes: borrowed from mom

Necklace: vintage

Purse: vintage

Tomorrow morning we leave early and start off on our adventure around the island. We will be staying on the Hilo side two nights in a house we rented, and we have about a billion things on our list to see, including healing hot springs, black sand beaches, the volcano, and lava tree state park! Even though I have experienced these things on past adventures here, R has not, and I am so excited for him to see all of the unbelievably beautiful and unique sights!

Not sure if I will have my computer with me, but should be back on Wednesday either way! Off to make some Pupus, have a glass of wine, and play some games! Hope everyone had a lovely weekend.

1/18/12

I am again posting from paradise! I am currently laying in bed slathered in aloe and drinking a Blueberry Lemonade Smirnoff waiting for my dad to finish grilling dinner. Who even drinks Smirnoff anymore, I am not sure, but man does it taste refreshing after such a ridiculously hot day! My mom and I went to some Kona thrift shops today and it had to be in at least the mid 80s. It was a lot of fun, but driving around in a car with no air conditioning was not!

Outfit Details:

Shorts: thrifted

Tank: Forever21

Necklace: Forever21

Shoes: borrowed from my aunt

Hat: sears

These pictures were taken in a lush area that I discovered the other day right near our apartment here along the bay. There was a really cool old canoe covered in debris and palm fronds and LOTS of spider webs. It is so nice to have so many awesome areas to take pictures in so close at hand. I did not bring my tripod with me though and feel slightly bad about having to ask others to take most of these for me. My mom has been a very willing participant though because we are outside anyway and this encourages us to explore more. (Thanks mom!)

Alight, I am off for now but have some really pretty beach pictures I would love to share tomorrow!

1/15/12

I wanted to do a quick outfit post that had the feel of a vintage Hawaiian postcard or pin-up girl. The pictures were taken inside of our apartment here in Kona. Though I feel sightly bad not utilizing the beautiful scenery, I promise you will be seeing a lot of it in the next two weeks and wanted to mix it up a little bit! My aunt actually gave me a big bag of vintage jewelry when I arrived that friends had thrifted at different stores around the island. The flower pin and earrings are both from her! I also thought the romper could be slightly reminiscent of a 50s style bathing suit so I added a twist to my hair and took it from there! Enjoy!

1/14/12

I arrived in Hawai'i late Thursday night, and spent yesterday acclimating, swimming, and reading by the pool. We are at our apartment in Kona and it is beautiful! We went out to a super nice dinner last night at the Kona Inn, a historical restaurant on the water which I would highly recommend as a special treat if you are ever in town (and preferably if someone else is buying!) I am so happy to be here and can't wait to soak up some more sun and just relax!

Living in Colorado I have already forgotten what it sounds like falling asleep to the sound of crashing waves. I do have to admit, my first night here I was pretty convinced there was about to be a tidal wave! I kept on hearing that suction sound they say comes before it, but it was just the waves going back out over the rocks in the bay here. I grew up listening to the ocean falling asleep in New Jersey, so I can't believe that is something I would be afraid of at night. I am going to blame it on the jet lag, because this past night it was just peaceful.

Outfit Details:

Dress: Boutique in NYC

Sandals: Borrowed from mom!

Fringe Necklace: Made by me

Sunhat: Target

(wow- this section is so much easier when you don't have to wear so many jackets and layer!)

This is the outfit I wore out to dinner yesterday. This is me "dressing up" when I am here, and this is often my go-to dress. The silky material is so smooth and comfortable after a day in the sun and I love the cut of it. It is quite the change to be able to throw on a sun dress when two days ago my goal was to pile on as many layers as would fit under my jacket! I also should warn you guys that you may be seeing a lot of hibiscus pictures while I am here. The insides of these flowers are so beautiful and interesting, definitely one of my tops favorite things in nature to photograph!

Anyway, off to drink some Kona coffee and perhaps go on a quick morning run (and by run I probably mean walk...downstairs to the pool). I can't wait to share my adventures with you guys, and will try my hardest to keep up with consistent updates!

Hawaiian Word of the Day:ALOHA:the most common word you will hear here has many meanings, the most common being hello, goodbye, and referring to love and affection:

I am going to try to use at least one Hawaiian word in every post while I am here!